We survived Christmas. All went well and the kids enjoyed all their gifts. I got pics w/ Richard's parents and a 4 generations pic w/ my mom and gma. It wasn't the best pic ever, but I've been trying to get one for months, and this was the best I could do. I also put a bunch on Flikr.
I got the house all put back together today. I finally, after all these years, got all my decorations organized and in real plastic containers. They are even all red & green so I will know what they are w/out having to read the top. All my poor ornaments have been wrapped in paper towels and in different cardboard boxes. I actually lost one big box for 3 years. It had our good stockings in it. Well it mysteriously appeared in the attic right in front of where you go down the stairs! That is just pitiful. No more! I'm organized and color coordinated!
We are trying to head to Branson this weekend. We have to wait for Rich to get off work, so it will be late(oh the joy of being back at the funeral home).
I bought a new marker board for the schoolroom at A-Z this week. I also found the Desk Apprentice fromStaples for $20. I just love to snoop around A-Z. We also stocked up on big blankets for .99 each. They are great for the dog, covering furniture, anything you might need.
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Christmas Stuff

We finally went to get a Christmas tree this week. We went to the farm in Rudy on what had to be the coldest day in the last couple of weeks. We very hurriedly picked a tree and brought it home. Well, if you will notice, the picture at the farm, the tree looks nice and straight. When we got it home and in the living room, that poor thing was leaning BAD. It grew sideways! Oh well, we did the best we could in making it look better. At least it has character!

We had our "SSC" Christmas party today. The kids had a blast. They decorated stockings, made ornaments and decorated Christmas tree tshirts. Then we stuffed the stockings with all kinds of goodies. Naturally, we ate lots of cute food too! We love our group of friends!!!

Twilight

Well, I finally went to see Twilight today. Yes, I went alone, but that is okay-nice and peaceful couple of hours!

I must say, it didn't do much for me. Of course, movies are never as good as the book, but I had pictures in my head of all these people and no one measured up for me. I almost laughed out loud when I saw Carlisle for the first time. They kind of cheesed it up too much. If I had written the book, I wouldn't have liked the end product of the movie, but I didn't write them or I would be living in a larger house by now :)

Now, will I see the next movie when it comes out-of course. It is fun to escape for little while-wether reading or watching.

We went to see The Wizard of Oz this weekend put on by the high school students. I was blown away by the professionalism of the whole thing. They did an outstanding job!

Rachel had her first basketball game of the season. She is playing in a new league this year and she needs to make some adjustments. This is more rough than she is used to so she is going to have to toughen up a bit. I"m sure she is up to it. Of course, my mom blames me for not feeding her enough-enough being junk food to bulk her up! What can I say, Rachel is a salad/fruit eater! She may be skinny,but she is healthy!

Giveaway

My new favorite site, Southern Plate, is having a giveaway of beauty products, so run on over and check it out!

Trent's first deer

Trent got to go hunting this morning with his Poppy and shot his first deer. It was a doe. Rachel got to go Thanksgiving morning but just before her shot, they spooked and ran off. Of course, now she is mad and wants to know when she gets to go again! The one picture is of my grandpa gutting the thing before they took it to the processing plant. Trent is very excited, they are going to make a rug from the hide(oh boy!).

Other than that, we have had a very uneventful holiday weekend. I shopped for a couple of hours Sat afternoon and that is it. The kids want to go see Bolt but I've yet to get up the energy to go. We will see! Right now Rich is trying to fix the toilet I tore up while cleaning the other day. He is getting more irritated by the hour, so I may load up the kids and go to the movie before it gets any worse!!!!

Happy Thanksgiving-A visit from Tom Turkey

One Saturday, Rachel and I were home alone. We started hearing this strange noise out on the back porch. When we went to look, we saw this odd looking turkey standing there looking in the window. We noticed he didn't look so well- a little green around the waddle. We decided to invite him in to see if we could help him out in anyway. Well, he sat down in the kitchen to rest and just about the time I was going to offer him some tea, he threw up all over my kitchen table and sideboard. Well, needless to say, we ran him off out the back door and haven't seen him since. The pictures show the damage that was left behind!

I hope you have a great Thanksgiving, and be careful of green turkeys!!

Crafts

I just found a new kids craft blog. It looks like it has lots of great ideas. Maybe I will be inspired?????
As soon as I take the time to take pics, I'm going to tell the story of how Tom Turkey visited our house!

Ice Skating

We went ice skating w/ Believers Friday. It was T & R's first time to ever ice skate. We even talked dad into going with us. They really enjoyed it and got the hang of it just as it was time to leave!!! I'm sure we will have to go back again soon. I didn't get very good pictures but Kelli did and will get those to me.

After skating, we went on over across the street from the Jones Center and watched the cattle auction for awhile. Sounds fun doesn't it! My uncle owns the sale barn and my grandpa used to own it. I've been there many times but the kids hadn't been, so we gave them the opportunity to witness a cattle auction, complete with wonderful fragrance! R loved it of course and T just wanted to get out!

Then we made our way up to Bentonville and ate at a wonderful pizza place. Gusano's-be sure to find it if ever up that way. Of course, when we are that close, we have to do Krispy Kreme! It is pumpkin spice time-my favorite!

The first pic I posted is from the Spiro Mounds. I tried to delete, but don't know how- oh well.

More Good Eats

Well, I love my Southern Plate! I tried another recipe last night and loved it. It was the Bama Steak Sandwich. I like it so much, I'm having leftovers for lunch. It is easy, quick and yummy! My only complaint lately is that it has been very hard to navigate around her website. I don't know what the problem is but I hope it gets better.
We also had a wonderful Renew last night for homeschool moms. Kelli brought lots of different fun to make foods for the holidays. It was all so cute and I think I could do most of it, I just have to work on my 'want to' a little more. I didn't get pictures but I'm sure some others will post theirs soon. I think I will try the bread cornucopia first. It seemed easy enough! Of course, I need somewhere to go to take it!
I also brought a few things home with me that night and the kids ended up eating them for breakfast!!!!!Oh well!

Election

Well, it didn't turn out the way we wanted. I just hope and pray things go well the next four years. I know God is in control of this situation, I'm just trying to remind myself of that often!

We did have fun learning about the presidential election process. We read lots of books, went to the Republican headquarters and picked up t-shirts , bumper sticker and yard sign. Then we all went to vote together. Election night we printed out an electoral map and filled it in as the night went along. Too bad it was too blue!!!

At least the campain is over-for awhile. Since this one lasted 2 years, I can only imagine the next one starting with 3 years left!!

Eating and Voting

We voted!! The kids went with me and we read the ballot and they got to touch the screen. What a great education! Best part, no line. I'm glad it is over but a little nervous of the outcome.

Now, eating! I tried 2 more recipes from the Southern Plate. Oh my! The grilled chicken tenderloin and baked mac and cheese. That mac was awesome. I've never made it from scratch before. It doesn't taste anything like mac and cheese. Much better. Scoot on over there and try them out.

Trent finished soccer this weekend and we didn't get to have family pics made. She couldn't fit us in. I'm spending most of this week trying to get pics of the kids around here. We went in our yard yesterday and going to mom's sometime this week.

Spiro Mounds was very interesting. I've never been before. If you haven't seen it, it is worth the trip.

Pictures

I'm so excited. We are going to have family pictures made this weekend in front of Old Main at the UofA. I've always wanted pics there. It is beautiful this time of year! I've fretted about what to wear and I think I have come up with red for everyone and jeans. I just hope I got our reds close enough! I'm also going to take pictures of the kids myself around here as soon as the trees get a little more color. My mom's place is a wonderful spot for pictures, especially in fall.
Trent wraps up soccer this weekend. I"m glad-tired of trips to Ft Smith, but never fear, it is ending just in time for Rachel to start basketball! We are just glad gas is going down!

Party Time

One of our homeschool friends had a Halloween/birthday party. One of the perks of homeschooling, you can party in the middle of the day! We had lunch, cake, games and crafts. Can't beat that! I didn't get food pics but it was all so cute-ghost pizzas, brain watermelon, pumpkin cheese ball etc. They also made the cutest tshirts. They were tie dyed orange w/ white cirlcles. They used markers to make the faces. They were a big hit.

Richard laughs so hard he cries everytime he sees the picture of the girls. They were all American Girls except our sweet little skeleton! He said it looks like a sinister skeleton invaded the Duggar family. She wouldn't be caught dead dressed like an American Girl! T was Darth VAder but we forgot to get pics of the boys.

The kids had a great time and we really enjoy getting together with our homeschool friends.

New find

I just found a new blog that I thought might be interesting to my friends that have girls. I haven't had time to look thru it much but it looks good.
I have been spending too much time on Facebook thus not much here. We went to a great birthday/Halloween party today. When I get time to download my pics, I will share.

Learning Fun

We have been learning about sea turtles and our activity suggested drawing out the largest sea turtle, the Leatherback Sea Turtle. It gets up to 9 ft long and 6 ft wide! That is one large turtle!

We also went to the Janet Huckabee Nature Center last week. We used a seine net to find fish in the lake, looked at different snakes and took a nature walk. It was fun. Ended up being a little cold but we survived!

Apples & blubber!

We did an semi-impromtu unit on apples last week. We read a few books and tried several different kinds. I got out my trusty Handbook of Nature and read about apple trees and we did a few of the experiments. We never did get around to making apple pie.

This week we ended our unit on seals and sea lions and did a quick experiment on how blubber works. I opted for shortening for the

blubber(tho I had several people offer me theirs!). They did get to experience how the blubber keeps them warm. Now they also know why dad stays warmer than mom!!!!HA Just kidding!

I'm never washing my hand again!

Since we homeschool and play sports, Tim Tebow is our hero. We went to the game Sat and managed to get up close. It ended up being luck we were in the right spot when he came out. There were lots of people waiting to see him. Even Razorback fans. He stopped right in front of Rich and Rachel and turned around to ask someone a question and slapped Rachel's hand. Afterwards, I realized my camera got bumped at some point and the setting was moved to b/w. At least it let me get continuous shots. Even tho we lost, it was a fun day!

Takin it Outside

School work just seems to go much better when you can take it outdoors! It was too wet to make a pallet on the grass, so we just got out our chairs and sat in the sun. I bought these really neat marker boards for the kids and they enjoy using them. One side is blank, the other has primary lines , clock face, number line and place value chart. We have used them for math, spelling and copywork so far. Breaks the monotony of using a notebook-saves paper too :) I bought them from Rainbow Resource, my favorite place to homeschool shop!

We were also able to set free a strange insect we found Wed. I finally decided after much googling, that it was in the Mantid family. Looks like a praying mantis. Didn't get a pic but he was sure strange looking. It is really fun to watch my kids noticing nature more and more as we take more time to study it. Which leads me to a wonderful book I'm going through. Talking to Fireflies, Shrinking the Moon by Edward Duensing. It tells you how to do 'tricks' with different animals and insects. Nothing that hurts them, just cool stuff to amaze the kids. We tried fiddling earthworms this week. We didn't have a good spot, we only got one worm but it was fun and they thought I was a genius!

Sunday

Well, not really Sunday, but I had a theme I needed to stick with-actually Saturday night! Big entertainment in the country. Rich and kids looking for crawdads! As I watched (no, I didn't participate) the song Boondocks was running thru my head. I'm going to try to find it and put it on the blog so you can have the full effect!!!

Saturday

T had soccer this morning. We had to miss the Razorback game but we came out the winners on that one. T's team won the the Hogs got slaughtered!!! Anyway, T had one goal and 2 missed goals. He did really well. Poor thing played the entire 2nd half and nearly passed out! Each half is 25 minutes. He loves it though.
R had softball practice and ended up hurting her hand. If it doesn't feel better soon, we may need an xray. She has never complained and cried about an injury like this before.
Rich taped the game and is now watching it. Glutton for punishment I guess!
I did get a quick trip to the used bookstore in VB. I love that place. Found lots of good deals this trip. Also found T some dress shorts for next summer at 75% off(not in the bookstore :). Made it a pretty good day!
Now maybe we can get a little down time before church and home group tomorrow.

Friday

The GALLOWS!

Judge Issac Parker's gravesite.

Judge Parker's court

What is left of the old fort.
Believers kids in the courtroom.

We went on a field trip to the Ft Smith Historic Site and learned about Judge Issac Parker. It was really interesting. We all learned a lot about Ft Smith's history. It is worth the trip if you have never been.